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Talk:Nerd World/@comment-24352670-20140516213721
Chapter 15-30: Aaron makes for a really good villain to this story. Beyond that, not much to say about chapter 15. I'd say Ken has a legitimate reason to be annoyed at Paul about Jane. It is kinda like a starving person sitting next to a guy with a power bar in his hand who just stares off absentmindedly into the distance. At some point the starving person would snap and shout "just eat it already". I love the silly threat from Jane in chapter 17. And finally it begins in chapter 18. I'm looking forwards to finding out how it goes and how well you can capture the tension of the event. Brilliant cliffhanger in chapter 19. Also, the mystery of Aaron's hate is quite intriguing. I'm a bit surprised Paul wasn't more insulted by Ken's protective arrangements. I'd say it implies "Paul, you're a sucker, so if she starts flirting with you - even though you know it is just part of a cynical scheme - it will throw you off your game. Realistically though, just knowing Jane might try to manipulate him should be enough to throw Paul off. I mean, realizing the person you're in love with would do something you find deeply immoral is almost like an existensial crisis. Suddenly you have to question one of the most fundamental points in your world view, namely that your love interest is... Well, loveable. The fact that he is afraid to act on his feelings must also mean he has particularly strong feelings about her. I like chapter 22. Jane seems like a great, honest person. I can also understand that it would feel nice to go out with a respectable score in the semi-final and not have to worry about the pressure of the final - at least when you compete to have fun and is not obsessing like Aaron or Ken. I'm a bit disappointed as to how quickly it went actually. In a 30 chapter long story it just took 4 chapters to go from the start of the event the story revolves around to what is hyped up to be the second last big highlight. Oh man, that scene with Aaron would have been painful to watch. Aaron acting like he is revealing Paul's true nature, but just ending up showing how overly attached he was to Paul and how obsessive he still is. His cunning, intellectual facade fading away and his emotional and irrational side on public display. I had a feeling the hate came from Paul growing away from Aaron and not vice versa. Still, that was just sad. Oh, and just to be clear, the last paragraph was not meant as a criticism. "Does it look ___ I need to cheat..." Missing word. Pressumably "like". Oh, man, I love a sucker-punch like that. It is almost like when Snape kills Dumbledore. It throws off the established expectations and leave you without a clue what will happen next, but itching to find out how the fictional universe will recover from this blow to its established logic. It is getting late, but I think I have to read to the end. "Like anold picture" Space missing. I love how Leon is somewhat strange and unsettling and Paul acts as if Leon is strange and unsettling. I find Paul and Jane to be the easiest people to identify with in the story. It feels like Leon is somehow good guy and villain at the same time. He is just really hard to figure out. You can't sneeze with your eyes open? I never knew that, but when I think about it, it makes sense. Chapter 29 was epic. Btw, just to make sure I got it: Leon's secret trick was to reach for the buzzer before he had the answer, assuming that by the time the host stopped talking he would have figured it out? That is extremely risky and he had to be a genious to pull it off. Still, a great plot. Usually when odds seem impossible, but the protagonist still wins, the justification for that happening is flawed, but I can understand that once realizing this and adapting the same strategy Paul could match Leon. At first, the page didn't load when I pressed next chapter and I thought "Wait, was that the end of the series. Lame!" Ken should really try to warm up to Leon. I love how it ends with Paul thinking exactly what Jane feared he'd be thinking. Over-all, I loved the story as much as my reading the last half of it in one sitting would suggest. The characters and plot turns were brilliant and it came down to a rather monumental "action scene" (whatever the appropriate term would be - excitement scene doesn't sound too good). At times it made me think and at times it made me feel and that's what a good story should achieve. I have one question though. Leon's dad did not use the same strategy as Leon, did he? Because a 100% success rate with such a risky strategy is insane.